Multi-pack carriers have long been available to facilitate the carrying of bottles or the like. Thus, customers can buy bottles of beverages in 6-packs or the like. Many of these carriers, however, lack total consideration of the economics of high speed manufacture, bulk shipment in a flat state, ease and speed of assembly of the carrier, as well as ease of container release and removal by the consumer. Other carriers available, while suitable for their intended purpose, are complicated in construction, in their assembly, and do not facilitate removal of containers from the carrier by the consumer.
The most common multi-pack carrier for bottles is the basket carrier, which, as the name denotes, is formed into a basket which receives the bottles. Six-packs of soda or beer are often seen in such basket carriers. Basket carriers, however, are formed from complex blanks which produce a significant amount of waste. The assembly of basket carriers and the filling of bottles used in basket carriers is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. Because the blanks for basket carriers are complex, they require complex machinery to assemble the baskets. Typically, the basket carriers are formed and placed into a case and filled with bottles. The bottles in the basket are then transported to the filling plant. At the filling plant, the bottles are removed from the basket, washed, and then placed on the filling line. Once the bottles are filled and capped, crowned, or otherwise closed, they are placed back in the carrier. Basket carriers also create difficulties in the store. They are difficult to stack, and when they are, the basket can catch the crown of a bottle in a basket adjacent the selected basket. This can cause the adjacent bottles to fall, resulting in breakage and loss of product, as well as associated revenue for the store.
To overcome the problems associated with basket carriers, many different carriers have been provided which are in the form of flat or planar carriers which accept the bottles or in the form of sleeves through which the bottles extend. These carriers typically have openings through which the neck of the bottle extends. The openings are surrounded by tabs which in many instances catch the bottom of the bottle crown to hold the bottle in the carrier. Others provide tabs which catch the bottom of the bottle's chime. To remove the bottles from the carriers, the bottles must be pulled downwardly through the tabs. As can be appreciated, in the first instance, the crown, which is crimped when secured to the bottle, will catch the tabs making the bottle difficult to remove. In the second instance, the chime will have to be pulled through the upwardly extending tabs. In either case, the upward force exerted by the tabs against the cap or chime of the bottle must be overcome to remove the bottle from the carrier. If the carrier is to be strong enough to carry six bottles, this force can be difficult to overcome.
Presently available carriers are scored or embossed to provide a hinge point for the tabs. When the carrier is scored or embossed to form the tabs, the fibers, which provide strength to the carrier, are broken, leading to a loss of strength of the carrier. Further, the scoring of the paperboard enables the paperboard carrier to more easily absorb moisture. As can be appreciated, the absorption of moisture will weaken the carrier.
To overcome the difficulty of removing the bottles from the carriers, the carriers should be provided with a release mechanism. Examples of carriers which provide release mechanisms for the bottles are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,926,306 to Klygis and 4,401,212 to Fischer. In the first patent, the carrier is in the form of a sleeve and is provided with a pull-tab which extends along a side panel of the carrier. The pull tab enlarges the opening so that the bottles can be removed therefrom. However, because a single pull tab is provided and because the pull tab enlarges the openings through which the bottle necks extend, removal of the tab can weaken the carrier and allow the bottles to accidentally escape from the carrier. The second patent provides for a key-slot style aperture through which the bottle neck extends. To remove the bottle from the carrier, the bottle is moved relative to the key slot to be aligned with a larger diameter area of the key slot. This larger diameter area has a diameter larger than the chime or take-out bead of the bottle and the bottle may be removed from the carrier. However, the bottle may accidentally come into alignment with the larger diameter area and become loose in the carrier. Another release mechanism is shown in a co-pending application, Ser. No. 282,778, filed Jul. 29, 1994, which is incorporated herein by reference. The release mechanism shown therein provides independent pull tabs for each bottle in a flat or planar carrier.
Bottles are relatively long and have narrow diameters when compared to beverage cans. Thus, when the bottle is held by its neck, the bottle may form a pendulum with respect to the carrier and be able to swing when held by the carrier. If the bottles are allowed to swing too much, they can contact each other and break. Regulatory and practical requirements dictate against a construction which will allow the bottle to swing in the carrier.